Hotto Potto — Restaurant in London

If I could give this 0 stars I would.

The most horrible dining experience I have ever had. First let’s start off with the hygiene, it was absolutely disgusting. Utensils and surfaces seemed to be covered in a layer of grime or oil, certainly not appetising.

While the food looked ‘appetising’ at the surface level the taste was far from that. The chilli base was not edible at all, it was filled with the overwhelming taste of peppercorn and did not have an actual taste beyond that. It was awful to eat and really could not consume any of it. The meat also had a stench to it which made it rather inedible and neither of us were able to finish any of it. The mushrooms were also stringy and not how it usually would be. Overall the taste was horrible, the servers were asked if we could be accommodated in any other day and they flat out refused. The soup bases made the food inedible and had this horrible chilly peppercorn oily aftertaste. We also tried the satay sauce, it tasted horrible. We could not finish the food at all, and what we did attempt to eat left us with y a horrible stomach ache after. I could not get rid of the spicy oily taste from my throat and I felt horrible after this food.

As if the food was not bad enough, the service was somehow even worse. Throughout our time there, we received no service let alone outstanding service from the staff. As someone trying hotpot for the first time, if you want to charge me a service charge should at least explain but nothing of that sort was done. Not to mention all the food did not come at once, it was staggered so we could not put everything into the hotpot at once either. We had to wait to catch their attention for over an hour to try and pay the bill and even then they took so long.

Here comes the main issue, when we dined they had a 20% off offer. Now when it came to bill, we told them throughout our service that we were not happy with the food but did not receive any accommodations. The service was also appalling. So of course when it came to the bill, we did not want to include the service charge as it did not feel they did the part. The server told us that if we are to remove the service charge then they would also remove the 20% off. Nowhere was it mentioned that service charge is mandatory for the 20% off. There was no written or verbal indication for this prior to ordering food. If service charge is mandatory it should be clearly communicated but it was not. The server clearly took advantage of the situation. If the service and food was good, anyone would be happy to pay. But not only was the food horrible, we also had to pay for the horrible service? This place is clearly running a scam and people would be better off trying elsewhere. Unless you’re happy to have your money waste away. Note to Hotto...

If I could I would give this place 0 stars. As soon as we walked in we were treated with hostility as one of our party members were still due to arrive (like bro chill we only just stepped in 🥲 give us a break). When we were seated we ordered etc everything was fine - but we did feel like we were being rushed to order as staff excessively asked if we wanted to order (like 4 times in the space of 10mins - not an exaggeration!). Whilst we ordered I specifically stated I had a nut allergy, 🥜 ❌ they noted this down… long story short their sesame paste apparently has nuts and I had an allergic reaction (thank goodness my allergy isn’t life threatening - dread to think! But I had to make a run to the local Sainsbury’s and get me some meds etc) 💊

when it came to paying for the food… 💰 here’s where it gets interesting. I of course stated I wouldn’t be paying the OPTIONAL service charge because HELLLOOOO I had an allergic reaction to the food they gave me after I told them about my allergy.. I had to spend my monies on meds and also after I had the allergy ridden food I couldn’t eat anything else - I had about one tiny portion of noodles before I fell ill. Anyway … the manager threw a fuss about the service charge .. like dude if my allergy was life threatening you’d have more to worry about than me not paying you an extra tenner. To make things worse he tried to gaslight me harder than an ex, by telling me I had an allergy to sesame not nuts and I didn’t tell them about my sesame allergy 🙃. For context I eat sesame snaps like they’re the last thing on earth.. how’s he tryna tell me what I’m allergic to..especially after one of the staff members already admitted it had nuts in it. He eventually gave in and after my friends and I paid the bill (sans service charge) my guy muttered under his breath ‘it’s cheaper than McDonald’s’ ahahahahahhah 😑. I guarantee you it wasn’t cheaper than maccy D’s .. I wish it was. The absolute cheek of this man. After we asked him what he meant by that he repeated it again - “Yh you got a bargain it’s cheaper than McDonalds” and did a little sassy walk back to the kitchen 😩😩😩 no accountability and hardly an apology. Appalling management and customer service and the food wasn’t even that great. 😩😭😫 moral of the story kids… TikTok lies and don’t go here if you have...

Overpriced, Disgraceful Service

We dined as a group of four at Hotto Potto, with the total bill coming to £330—significantly more than what we usually spend at HL or HDL.

The food itself was passable, but the quality and portions were inferior compared to HL and HDL. Everything felt much coarser, with many items clearly frozen and served in tin containers. The kitchen seemed more akin to a large takeaway operation than a restaurant where one might expect to spend £80+ per person.

What stood out immediately was the poor management of reservations and seating. Despite plenty of empty seats and large tables occupied by just two people, the system seemed chaotic. We experienced this chaos firsthand. Our table was booked for 90 minutes—a tight window for enjoying hot pot. We arrived on time and had almost finished eating by the 90-minute mark, needing perhaps 10 more minutes. We thought this wouldn’t be an issue given the abundance of empty seats and under-occupied tables around us.

However, just as we were finishing, the waiter abruptly interrupted, commanding us, “You have to leave now!” When we explained that we only needed five more minutes, he returned with a shockingly rude manager who bluntly presented us with two options: “Either you leave immediately with the remaining food, or you leave without it.” When we protested, he had the audacity to say, “I’ve already politely (!!) given you two options. If you don’t like them, leave now.”

This appalling treatment came despite us spending £330, with empty seats all around, and only needing an extra five minutes.

Later, we visited HL in Bayswater and, out of curiosity, asked at the start of the meal, “What happens if we run out of time? Will you kick us out?” Their confident response was, “No, of course not. We manage the situation.”

In summary, if you enjoy being insulted in a takeaway-style atmosphere with mediocre food, Hotto Potto is the place for you. For everyone else, stick to HL in Bayswater or Holborn, or HDL in Piccadilly—you’ll have a much...